The United Kingdom will encourage Indian companies to use it as a stepping stone for trade with Europe, said Mr Ian Felton, the British Deputy High Commissioner in Bangalore.

“We will help any Indian company that sets up in the UK to trade in Europe and encourage them to use our country as a base,” Mr Felton told Business Line .

The UK received about 57,000 business visitors last year, and 65 Indian companies invested in the country, he said.

Mr Felton said executives of London Partners Ltd, which helps attract foreign direct investment into the UK, had visited Bangalore recently. London Partners helps Indian companies that want to set up shop in the UK with office space.

“These Indian companies, who are not sure of their prospects in the UK and want to test the waters there, need not worry about local taxes, electricity bills and Internet connection, and can focus on their business,” he added. According to him, the response from Indian companies was “positive”.

Mr Felton said that the UK was looking at the Global Investors' Meet in Bangalore in June as an opportunity to get to know Indian companies better. There is a lot of investment interest from UK in sectors such as life-sciences, aerospace and IT in India, he added.

“There are clusters in the UK which have a link to companies in the life-science sector such as stem cell research and pharmaceuticals,” he pointed out. Of the total four lakh visa applications received in 2011, 87 per cent were processed successfully. About 32,000 Indian students were granted visas to the UK last year. However there is a drop in the numbers in the past six months, he said.

>anju@thehindu.co.in

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